The Big Road Trip, Part 9: Glenwood Springs

“Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.” 

― Edgar Allan Poe

The beauty in the nature of Colorado is like nothing I've seen anywhere else in the United States.  I've always said that every state has a unique look, and having now been to 46 states, I still think this is true.  However, Colorado is unique.  The majestic Rockies with hidden Old West towns around and over huge ridges, the dramatic changes in weather, and the views abounding every bend in the road, makes for incredible beauty, and I literally found myself tearing up as we soaked in every new scene.  It's so hard to put into words.

***

We were rising up over the town of Glenwood Springs on a small cable car tram, up to the top of a mountain on which stands the small Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.  The ride wasn't what we expected.  I really thought it would be a short ride, but I missed the caution note plastered to the inside of the small four seat tram that said the tram would stop twice during the ride up while other trams are loaded.  Because it was windy, the trams were buffeted violently when the breezes blew, and because of the altitude, I really wasn't feeling very confident in the strength of the cable that connected our tram to some kind of security, and I fully expected that we would end up falling thousands of feet to our deaths.

Excitement to concern in about 6000 feet...

The tram continued to climb, the distance well beyond my expectations.  It leveled off a bit, but still climbed gradually, deeper into the mountains.  We glanced down and caught our first view of the track for the mountain coaster, and that calmed our nerves a bit, exchanging them for excitement and anticipation.  The tram slowed as it entered the station at the top of the mountain, and we finally exited the little car.  I felt relief.

We wandered around the little park, taking in the views, and mixed in with the small crowds of people.  Getting the lay of the land, we tried to determine what we wanted to do.  I finally decided that we would go ahead and get the full-price wristbands, which would allow us to experience all of the rides.  So we did.

We rode the mountain coaster, which was kind of cool since it worked differently than the ones we had tried in the Great Smokies.  There, the coaster was carried by cable to the top of a mountain, and then rode down the track back to the bottom.  Here, it was already at the top, so the ride began immediately, reaching full speed in seconds.  While it didn't go all the way to the bottom (which might take more than a few minutes), it soon reached the end of its run, and then it grabbed a cable for the long ride back to the boarding station.  It was a pretty good ride.

We explored the rest of the park, and soon found that the wristband deal wasn't necessarily very good.  The roller coaster was closed due to the winds.  The other thrill rides didn't fit our definition of thrill, such as the spinning swing that spun way out over the shear several thousand foot drop of death should it break in some unreasonable accident.  The only ride that we felt comfortable riding, and was operating, was the mountain coaster, and we rode it three more times before yet another thunderstorm rolled in and they shut down all of the rides, including the tram ride back down to the bottom of the mountain.

We decided to grab some dinner there at the park while we waited out the storm.  We saw an incredible rainbow in the sky.  It was beautiful.

Soon we got the all-clear, and we hopped onto the tram and rode back down to our Jeep.  We found a hotel for the night using our Choice app, in the town of Montrose, CO, and we began the 2.5 hour drive to dreamland.

***

This was almost the halfway point of our trip.  We had been on the road for just over a week, with just over a week ahead of us before we would reach home.  We drove about 350 miles for the day, and we were at 2709 for the trip so far.  I was exhausted, but I couldn't help being excited for what was still to come.  Giving thanks to God for the opportunity, for His safety, and for the beauty of His creation.  What a trip!

Have a great day, everyone!

The Big Road Trip, Part 8: The Rockies

I was up early, and I went outside to explore a bit.  The picture above is what I saw.  I felt energized.  There's just something about a mountain view that impacts me to my core.  God's handiwork in creating the Earth provides so much beauty.  And the Rocky Mountains in Colorado frame it well.

Daughter Melody slept in just a bit, and I checked out the breakfast situation.  The Rodeway Inn was dated, but functional and cozy, and the breakfast room was airy and bright.  I got some coffee, then headed back to the Jeep to clean the windshield.  A couple on a motorcycle was parked next to me, and I chatted with them.  They were headed north to Montana, having come from a trip out west.  I wished them well, and checked on Melody.  She was up and getting ready.

We packed up our stuff and loaded up the Jeep, then went to get breakfast.  It was crowded, but we found a table and ate quickly.  Then we pulled out, heading into Estes Park, CO.  We stopped at an Information Center, and found some souvenirs.  I bought a CD of cowboy songs, which became our soundtrack through the Rockies.  Then we headed to the park.

It was about 9:30 am when we entered Rocky Mountain National Park.  It is a beautiful park, and the drive along Trail Ridge Road is spectacular.  We took our time and took lots of pictures, getting out to hike a few of the short trails that provided even more gorgeous scenery.  The only negative is that, as we went through the park, we became slightly numb to the scenery, since every turn and view is more and more of the same.  It was almost too much to take in.  We rounded one bend and, sitting right above the road, were two elk, just lounging in the sun.

We stopped at the halfway point, at Alpine Visitor Center, at an elevation of 11,796 feet.  We visited the gift shop, took lots of pictures, and grabbed a few snacks.  I was reminded of the last time I had visited this spot, back in 2000 with my wonderful wife, Teresa.  It was here that she got very nauseous, and we realized she was suffering from altitude sickness.  I had told Melody this story, and she was very worried that she might get it, too, and she admitted to feeling a bit ill.  I don't know if it was the power of suggestion, but we decided to get back on the road and start heading out of the park.  It was nearing the lunch hour and we were getting hungry.

We headed towards Grand Lake, though it was slow going due to the amount of traffic on Trail Ridge Road.  We tried stopping at the continental divide, but it was so crowded, we couldn't even find a spot to pull off the road to grab any pictures.  We soon exited the park and drove into Grand Lake.  It was crowded here, too.  We passed all the way through the town looking for parking and trying to decide on a lunch spot.  At the end of the main street, we turned around and headed back through town in the opposite direction.

We finally found a place to park, and decided on the Fat Cat Cafe as our lunch choice.  It ended up being a neat stop.  The restaurant was very cozy and the food was great.  I'd describe it as unusual comfort food.  It was a busy place, but nice.

Back on the road, we had a choice to make.  I had mapped out this part of the trip before we left multiple times, and each time the GPS and road trip apps took us in a northwesterly direction from Grand Lake towards Glenwood Springs.  At the town of Granby, US 34 meets US 40, and the easiest, but longer, trip is to follow 40 east down to I-70 near Georgetown.  I've gone that way twice in the past.  But the road travels southeasterly and seems to be a long way in the wrong direction.  The GPS insisted we go west on 40, towards Kremmling.  From there, we could circle around and through the mountains in a westerly direction to Route 131, and south to I-70 at the little town of Wolcott, a much shorter trip.  I decided to follow the GPS.

We had more spectacular scenery, and aside from the 2-lanes and slowdowns due to RVs on the road in front of us, we made pretty good time.  At Kremmling, I was blindly following the GPS and it took us south on Route 9, with a right turn just south of town.  It was here I caught myself.  The GPS had calculated our route down a 25-mile dirt road.  I was generally opposed to going off pavement, let along 25 miles of rutted road, particularly with storm clouds rapidly gathering in that direction.  All along, I thought this route was paved, but it apparently is not.  I pulled out the atlas (yes, hard copy paper maps!) and found that our only option at this point was to go back to Kremmling, go west on 40, then jump on Route 134, which would eventually tie in at the other end of the dirt road.  But it was a substantially longer trip than we planned.

We returned to Kremmling along our new route, and then we had one of those moments that was terribly frustrating at the time, but kind of funny in hindsight.  We were at a red light, and I reached down to grab my warm, unopened bottle of Diet Mountain Dew.  I quickly opened it and it shot right out all over my face, dripped down my shirt, and covered my lap and driver's seat.  I yelled, causing Melody to laugh, and I quickly pulled off the road.  It was a big mess.  I keep plenty of towels in the Jeep, and I dried off as best as I could.  I was soaked down to my underwear.  I dried off the seat, and used the towel as a seat cushion so I wouldn't have to sit on a wet seat.  I wasn't happy about my predicament, but we continued on.

The drive along our new route was long, tedious, and stressful.  It went through the mountains and was very slow-going.  There was practically no traffic, and we ended up passing through multiple thunderstorms and heavy rain.  I hated that we were so far from civilization.  If anything happened, we were just far enough off the beaten path that we might be in trouble.  All told, we went about 165 miles between Grand Lake and Glenwood Springs, which took us almost 4 hours.

In Glenwood Springs, which is a very scenic town (isn't everything in Colorado scenic?), we headed straight to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park.  I was hoping they might have a discounted fee for a late afternoon arrival, but found that there is actually free admission, with the option to pay by the ride, or purchase a wrist band fro unlimited riding.  There was a roller coaster at the park, and a mountain coaster, and we hoped to ride both.  The cashier told us that we could just purchase a tram ticket and decide what to do once we reached the top of the mountain.  It was at this point that we realized that, by tram, he meant a cable car ride on a wire up the side of a mountain.  My fear of heights notwithstanding, the cable car ride was not what we anticipated....

To be continued...

Have a great day, everyone!

The Big Road Trip, Part 7: Wyoming

We headed west on I-90 in South Dakota and immediately hit another road construction project.  Road construction seems to be an interminable issue across the country.  We found it in almost every state, miles upon miles of reduced speed limits and stop and go traffic.  It is frustrating because you feel like you can never drive at speed, and you're not making any progress.

We reached the Wyoming state line 11 am.  We decided to stop at the Welcome Center to pick up some brochures and decide if there was anything else worth seeing other than the things we had already planned to do.  The building appears to be fairly new, and there were multiple stations to get information on specific regions and activities in Wyoming.  After exploring the place for about 30 minutes, we got back on the road and headed towards Devils Tower.  For a different view, we headed north onto Rt. 111 to Aladdin, then west on Rt. 24, towards the little village of Hulett.

Very soon, we crested a rise and saw the distinctive silhouette of Devils Tower.  It is such an impressive sight!  We arrived at the entrance to the National Monument at about 12:30, and we entered the park.  

For the second day in a row, the temperature was in triple digits, and once we arrived at the HQ/Gift Shop, we decided that the hike we wanted to take around the monument was not going to be the best idea.  It was just too hot.  We got a few souvenirs, and decided to make a small hike to the base of the monument, then explore other areas of the park.  And we did.

We went back to our Jeep, and drove back towards the entrance, stopping briefly to see the prairie dog farm along the entrance road.  There was a KOA camp store and cafe just outside the main entrance, so we decided to get lunch there.  It was a sit-down place, and they apparently weren't prepared for the number of customers they had.  Our server, who was really nice, told us that their kitchen just isn't very big, so they can only take so many orders at a time, apologizing for the long wait to get our food.  Once it arrived, we ate heartily.  It was a nice, basic lunch.  It was nice to be in a cool place to rehydrate.

We were back on the road at 2:30, and we began to long trek south through eastern Wyoming.  We went southwest on US 14 to Moorcroft, then west on I-90 towards Gillette, then south on Rt. 59.  It was a long drive on 59, which is mostly upgraded 2-lane road, and occasional passing opportunities.  There also were areas of construction, which meant alternating traffic when one of the lanes was closed to traffic.

My daughter, Melody, napped for a bit, and I enjoyed the scenery, which is flat and wide-open, providing sight lines many miles in every direction.  We stopped for a break at a rest area in Wright, WY, before entering the Thunder Basin National Grassland.  After several hours, we arrived on the outskirts of Douglas.  We jumped on I-25 south towards Cheyenne, with storm clouds on the horizon.

The weather degraded considerably at this point.  The temperature dropped almost 40 degrees from what we experienced earlier in the day, with huge wind gusts.  The Jeep is just tall enough to be impacted by the wind, and I wrestled to keep it in my travel lane as the wind whipped at us at the rather excessive 80 mph speed limit, and rain began falling on us.

We stopped for gas in Wheatland, WY.  The price per gallon at the local Shell was significantly higher than anything we had seen up to this point. Wheatland is just remote enough that perhaps it is legitimate, but when I passed another gas station just up the road at more than 50 cents per gallon, cheaper, I knew I had been price gouged.

Passing through Wheatland brought to mind the trip my wife and I made through the region back in 2000, on our cross-country trip.  We were headed west and south out of the Black Hills late in the afternoon, and we were anxious to make some distance after spending more time than we planned exploring that area.  It was getting late, and we stopped in Wheatland looking for a room for the night.  Every hotel we stopped at was completely booked.  I asked why, and they told me it was because of Frontier Days, an annual rodeo celebration, in Cheyenne.  We were still over 100 miles from Cheyenne, but due to the crowds and the limited number of hotels in the area, even little Wheatland was filled.  We were told to try the Wheatland Motel, and we ended up getting the last room there.  It was a real dump, and I felt badly for my wife, since this was our one-year wedding anniversary.  All we could do was laugh and make the best of it.

It was starting to get late, and we were hungry.  On the outskirts of Cheyenne, we stopped for dinner at a Taco John.  Despite its unappetizing name, I saw many of these on my travels, and we decided to give it a try.  Our verdict is that it isn't very good.  While I haven't eaten at a Taco Bell in almost 20 years, it seemed to be a step below that.  

We ate quickly since it was getting dark.  I had determined earlier in the day that we could make it to Estes Park, Colorado, by nightfall, and I made a reservation there.  But we were a few hours later than I predicted, and it would be dark shortly after we entered Colorado.  The good news was that the rain cleared out, and we had a spectacular sky, with a very pink sunset to the west.

Once in Colorado, the traffic picked up a bit.  We soon arrived at Loveland, CO, and we headed west again, on US 34.  Unfortunately, the sun was long gone, and the scenery along this stretch of road was absent to us.  To add to that, as we entered into the mountains, the rain hit us again.  It made for some white-knuckled driving, with lots of switchbacks and darkness compounding things.  I wasn't able to keep up the pace of the local cars who anxiously tailgated and passed us at every opportunity.

We finally arrived at our destination, the Rodeway Inn, in Estes Park, at 10 pm.  It was surprisingly nice, though old and dated.  We unpacked quickly with the rain coming down fairly hard, and soon we were asleep.  I was excited to be in the Rockies, though, and the next day would include some incredible scenery.

Have a great day, everyone!

The Big Road Trip, Part 6: The Black Hills

I love Wall Drug Store!  It's such a cool place.  We were up early and checked out of a very poor Econolodge, and immediately returned to Wall Drug Store for breakfast.  The ambience of this place just speaks to me.  There is great Native American and Western art on all of the walls, and the food is diner style, but just what I like.  And 5 cent coffee, to boot!  And the free ice water is everywhere.

After eating, we spent a great deal of time wandering around and picking up souvenirs.  The Traveler's Chapel is a nice spot, and the book store has a lot of great reads.  We considered a pair of cowboy boots, but ultimately decided we didn't need them.  All in all, we were there for 2 and a half hours.

We hit the road again at 10 and headed west into the Black Hills.  Timothy Price, who we met at G-Fest, author of "Big In Japan," told us about a neat attraction, so we took a detour to Rushmore Cave.  Rushmore Cave advertised a Mountain Coaster, something we discovered during our Spring Break trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, so we were excited to ride one Out West.  Unfortunately, they got caught up in red tape and construction was delayed, so the coaster was not finished.  They have an interactive movie/shoot 'em up 4-D ride, so we did that instead.  It was a longer detour than we intended, and we were just a bit disappointed about the mountain coaster, but it was fun.

Next stop was Mount Rushmore!  This is always a favorite stop, and it always causes my patriotism to swell.  It is a dramatic scene, cut into the side of the mountain, and it can be seen for miles in many directions.  This was my fourth visit to Mount Rushmore, and Melody's second, but it is still awe-inspiring.

It was very crowded, and very hot, with temps souring into triple digits.  We took the requisite pictures, then headed to the cafeteria for a really delicious meal.  While it's not the same building, I can't help but be reminded of the dramatic scene in Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST, when Cary Grant is shot in the cafeteria at Mount Rushmore.  That movie is what inspired me to want to visit the memorial.  Well, that, and the pictures and stories my father told me about his visit to Mount Rushmore with his father and brothers back in the 1970s.

After eating, we walked through the museum area, then got some ice cream (Thomas Jefferson's vanilla!), before deciding to hit the road.  It was just so hot!  We headed out to Route 16A, the Iron Mountain Road, which goes right into the mountains and offers spectacular scenery and views of Mount Rushmore through several tunnels.

Next was Custer State Park.  This park is known for it's wildlife, and the huge herd of bison that typically hangs around the main roads through the park, providing great photo ops and entertainment.  We stopped at the new visitor center, where park rangers were telling guests where the best spots were to see the buffalo.  He gave us some tips and their last reported location, and told us some incredible stories of some of the stupid things guests do to get pictures of the bison, endangering their lives in the process.  He told us that a woman was gored just the day before when she wandered too closely to a stubborn bull.

Back on the road, we wandered thru the park and decided that a few dirt roads would get us closer to the last reported location of the herd.  We ended up in some very remote areas, but we never found the herd. After more than an hour criss-crossing through the back roads, we decided to exit the park.  Our only wildlife were the wild mules who beg for food.

We headed to Custer, SD, a really cool little town we stayed in during our trip to the area almost 8 years ago.  It hasn't changed a bit.  The only sad thing was seeing the old Flintstones' Bedrock City amusement park, which was rundown when we were here before, was now closed.

We went north and soon arrived at another favorite spot in the Black Hills:  the Crazy Horse Memorial.  It's still a dramatic sight, even if it appears that no progress has been made on the mountain, which is being carved into the likeness of the great Lakota leader,Crazy Horse.  The memorial itself represents all Native American tribes, and is the largest sculpture in the region.  It's impressive.

We watched the film about the creation of the memorial and what it represents to the people there, and we explored the site.  We got some souvenirs, and marveled at the spectacular memorial.  Then we headed to our last stop for the day:  Deadwood.

Deadwood is a real wild west town, and worth seeing.  It's just a bit over rated, though, and the lodging reflects that.  I made a reservation at Cadillac Jack's, a casino that, while on Main Street, is very far from the touristy area worth visiting.  I was very disappointed, particularly given how expensive the rooms are.  I wish I had done my homework.  It's a very nice place, but not at all what we wanted, and definitely not a kid-friendly location.  It was already late, so we didn't get a chance to explore in the town itself, and we ate at the hotel's restaurant, which was fair.

After a restful night, we were up early.  There was no breakfast to speak of, so we just checked out and looked for a place to grab a donut or something.  The town was slowly waking up, but there really wouldn't be anything open until much later, and we had a lot of distance to cover this day.  We did drive up the mountain overlooking Deadwood to visit Mount Moriah cemetery, where we visited the grave of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane.

We enjoyed our 24 hours in the Black Hills, and I wish we had more time to visit.  There is so much to see and do, but since we had visited the area before, and we had a lot of the country yet to see, we headed north and west out of Deadwood and set our sights on Wyoming....

Have a great day, everyone!  And best wishes, blessings, and thanks to our many Veteran's who keep our freedoms alive and well in this wonderful country.  May God continue to bless America!